Railway-car attachment



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY I-IENTHORNE, OF NEWARK, OHIO.

RAI LWAY-CAR ATTAC H M ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,801, dated April 18, 1893.

Application filed June 30, 1892. Serial No. 438,624. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY HENTHORNE, of Newark, in the county of Licking and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Oar Attachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art' to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in railway-car attachments and more especially to a lifeguard extending all round the car whereby there is no liability of a person getting under the car-wheels in falling at either side or end of a car, or between cars; and my invention consists in certain features of construction and in combination of parts hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims. The life-guard at each side of the car being substantially the same in construction, and,

likewise, being substantially the same in construction at each end of the car, a perspective View of a car provided with my improved lifeguard, showing an end and a side of the car, is considered sufficient to illustrate my invention, and the accompanying drawing exhibit-s such a picture, the car-body being shown in dotted'lines.

My improved life-guard is preferably lo cated so as to come about three inches above the rails of the railway-track. The guard comprises a pair of flat side-members, A, located, respectively, directly in the line of the carwheels and extending lengthwise of the car and somewhat beyond the ends of the car, and the guard comprises also a pair of flat endmembers, B, extending transversely of the car and secured to the top of side-members A. Side-members A are supported at each end of the trucks by stirrups or U-shaped hangers, O, rigidly secured to the adjacent sill of the car, members A resting upon the central members C of the hangers and secured thereto preferably by means of bolts Members A B may be made of wood or metal but preferably of wood, members A being preferably com posed, respectively, of two boards or planks arranged end to end, as at a, between the trucks of the car, and members B are preferably composed of matched flooring nailed to the top of members A. Members A are slotted, as at A, to accommodate the location and operation of the car-wheels, said slots being preferably just large enough for such accommodation. By the construction already described it will be observed that instead of a person getting under the carwheels by falling between the wheels of a truck, he would be caught by the respective side-member A of the life-guard and thrown away from the car laterally or carried along upon said side-member. Stirrups or hangers O are firmly secured against becoming loose by one or more pairs of oppositely disposed braces, E, secured to the car-sills and to members A in any suitable manner, a pair of braces being preferably provided for each end member 0 of the stirrup or hangers, as shown.

G represents lattice-work provided at each side of the car between thetrucks, the same being secured at the top to the respective sill of the car and, at the bottom, to the respect ive side-member A of the life-guard, and serve not only to prevent a person from getting under the car between the trucks, but also, in a measure, affords an additional support for the respective side-member A. End-members B of the guard project so far out from the end of the car that when two cars, provided with my improved attachment, are coupled together, the guards of the two cars will approximately abut each other or come so near together that there shall not be, between the guards, an opening sufficiently large for a person to fall through and thereby get under the cars. The cars can be coupled with entire safety and members B of the guard will serve as a step or platform upon which the person may step in coupling the cars. An additional hanger, asat H, is preferably provided at the ends of the car, the same being secured to the respective end-member B of the guard centrally between the sides of the car, and supported from the car-sill above, hanger H not only serving as an additional support for the respective end-member of the guard but preventing a person, by an uncommon fall, from being thrown in under the car from the end. By the foregoing it will be observed that no matter Where the fall takes place, whether at the side, forward of, or between cars, the person falling is not liable to get under the wheels of the car.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a railway-car, of a life-guard extending all round the car and supported from the car-body, said guard comprising side-members located directly in the line of the car-wheels, substantially as indicated, and extending from end to end of the car, said side-members having openings to accommodate the location and operation of the car-wheels, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a railway-car and stirrups or U-shaped hangers. secured to the car-body, of a life-guard extending all round the car substantially as indicated and comprising side-members resting upon and secured to the central members of said stirrups or hangers, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a railway-car, of a life-guard extending all round the car and supported from the car-body, said guard comprising fiat side-members, A, and flat endmembers, B, all arranged and disposed substantially as shown, members A being slotted, as at A, to accommodate the location and operation of the car-wheels, and lattice-work or suitable means, as at G, for preventing a person from falling in under the car between the trucks, substantially, as set forth.

4. The combination with a railway-oar, of a life-guard extending all round the car, and comprising side-members A and end-members B, side-members A being supported from the car-body and located in line with. the carwheels and extending beyond each end of the car, members B being secured to members A, the latter having openings for accommodating the location and operation of the carwheels, and members B projecting so far outwardly from the ends of the car that when two cars are coupled together the life-guards of said cars will come sufficiently close to each other. to prevent a person falling onto the track between the coupled cars, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with a railway-car, of a life-guard extending all round the car, substantially as shown and described, and comprising side-members A and end-members B, the side-members being suspended from the body of the car and slotted as at A, and the end-members being supported, substantially as indicated.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification, in the presence of two witnesses, this 10th day of June, 1892.

HENRY HENTHORNE.

Witnesses:

O. H. DORER, WARD HOOVER. 

